Winter has hit again in New England, and I have to say, it reminds me of growing up in the mid-west... and I love it. Yes, the temps are so low all the time you wonder if the thermostat is broken and the sky so bleak you wonder if all the color has sapped out of the atmosphere into some hidden cave. But the leaves still cling to the last hues of autumn and looking around, you realize that you're desperate to see the ice and snow return.
Here's the thing - I love distinct and changing seasons. One of the reasons that I didn't connect with Maryland nearly the way I thought I would is that I need more change in my seasons. I want to go from a bitter winter to a squishy spring to a hot summer to a crisp and drizzly autumn to help visualize the turn of the wheel. Change like this really helps push forward the calendar in my head, and for someone who isn't so great at the big picture thing, this is a huge help. Watching the yearly progression of my garden is just one more time telling device I use that isn't a calendar or clock.
Part of what I try to do with my path is to learn and use the skills that have been partially lost in this age. There are many who do this to varying degrees, and I don't go as far as some, but there are aspects to my life that I need to keep myself slowed down. Here are some techniques I use:
Herb gathering - nothing makes you stop and pay attention like gathering from your garden. You don't need anything but a basket and your hands to do it, so no technology comes into the equation. (unless you want to use clippers, but still, not high tech here.) It's just you, studying your plants, choosing which ones to prune, which ones are ready for harvest and which ones need to keep a few leaves. You have to talk to your garden but you have to listen too - and this is a listening time.
Raking leaves - this is on the list probably because I lived in apartments for the majority of my life. I didn't have a yard to care for... the landscapers did all of that. So now that there is yard for me to play in, I also care for it and leaves are part of my deal. I get to be close to that color that existed outside the window, that fell to the ground and now has purposes in caring as mulch for my garden and an additive for my compost bin.
Making something from scratch - I do a lot of cooking (in case you couldn't guess) and one of the things that heralds fall for me is a trip to the orchard and then an afternoon making apple butter. It takes forever (I don't have a peeler/corer, just a trusty knife) so it's peeling and cutting till my hands are slick with juice and the crock pot is heaping with apple bits.
Scents - this is the most important thing I do. Scent can do wonders for you, and more than just making a space smell "nice", scents can trigger memories that will do more to lift your mood than almost anything else. My recipe book for this is Scott Cunningham's Incense, Oils and Brews or his Herbal Encyclopedia... they're wonderful and if you don't have a copy, you should invest as soon as you're able. A few tips: don't use pots you cook in, have one or two that are just for your scents. I use the little ones from Ikea, because I'm bound to mess them up at some point and they're cheap enough you don't mind so much. Also, have spoons that are only used for your scents. Both of these reasons are for safety - you're likely, at some point, to add something you can't ingest but like the smell of - and you don't want to poison anyone. So be careful of who's around and make sure everyone knows not to eat that. :)
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